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Investment Policy Review - Rwanda

Rwanda is among the world's poorest nations, and it faces particular challenges in leveraging FDI for development. The present Investment Review notes that Rwanda has nevertheless achieved remarkable political and social progress since 1994. It has become one of Africa's countries with the highest degree of personal safety and lowest incidence of corruption. It has also started to rebuild its economy, and the Government is fully committed to building a peaceful, stable and prosperous nation through sustainable private sector led development.

Economic structure and FDI impact

Rwanda is one of the poorest countries in the world1 and much of its population lives on subsistence agriculture. The formal industrial and services sectors are little developed and almost non-existent outside the few larger urban areas (essentially Kigali, followed by smaller urban centres such as Butare, Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Gitarama or Kibuye). The very high population density, pressure on limited and fragile arable land, and the reliance of a large share of the population on subsistence agriculture mean that the transformation of the economy will be essential to improve living conditions for the majority of the country's inhabitants. Although the structure of the economy and past policies have been such that little foreign direct investment (FDI) has been attracted, the Government is now keen for foreign investors to contribute to business development, hence participating to a private sector-led process of economic transformation, development and wealth creation